Engine preheater



Aug. 6,1940. E, H N. I 2,210,049

ENGINE PREHEATER I Filed Nov. 26, 1938 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 6, 1940. THOMPSON 2210,049

' Y ENGINE PREHEATER Filed Nov. 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snow;

Patented Aug; 1946 I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Earl Dak. Application n ember so, ms Serial w states 4 Claims. (!..126-350) This invention relates to a heating device and side elevation 0! a motor vehicle engine showpertains particularly to an improved and novel 'ing, in iull lines, the mechanism embodying the means or heating motor vehicle or othersimilar present invention connected with the engine and engines preparatory to starting the same, where in working'or operative position.

such engines have been subjected to low tem- Fig; -2-is a view looking into the water coil 5 peratures, housing, this view showing the housing irom the e The present inventionhas for its primary ob underside. ject to provide a novel .motor vehicle engine 8, 31s a section taken on the line H of heating means wherein thewater of the 0001- 8- a 1'0 ing-system will be warmed or heated, particu- Fig.4 is' a view in plan of the heater unit 10 la'rly the water contained in the chamber sur-j which is detachably coupled with the water coil rounding the engine block,'so that the engine usi g, sh wi 8 h n ng means which is de-' after being started, will immediately function tachablv coupled therewit smoothly and the excessive wear upon the parts la-'51s a sectional view on the line 5-! or resulting from the operation of an engine when 18- 1t 1 cold m avoided; Fig. (ii-ea view in side elevation of one of the Another object of 'theinvention is to provide, Wa r eoiliinit supporting elements.

an improved engine heating means, designed Referring W-m p rticularly to the drawprimarily ior use in association with motor veinse, he. numeral I generally de n 'm hicle engines but not; of course; restricted to h l fl the parts I and 3 oi which such use, wherein there is provided a water coil represent flmuY ythe upper and lower porwhieh is kept permanently connected mm t .tionsoi the block in-which the 'water Jacket is engine block water jacket, and a heater which f m 1 j is designed to be detachablyconnected with the- .oer y n o t the present invention. the water coil whereby heat may be applied to the lower pert the j ke portion of the lowe 26 coil preparatory to starting the engine and after ock s P v d at one en 01' the engine with the desiredtemperatureof the water in the coil e 9 911! 411' nipple I which op s into and the engine block water ieexet nee been atthe w r iack an at t mmit 'e d or the tained; the heating unit may b r 'yed and engine the upper half for the block is provided stored away mtil wanted for further use, the with aQhose connection or nipple! whichvopens 3o heating coil belng-i-etained'on theengine as]. into the upper p of the w r Jacket, this g v v I: nipple bein provided. with .a'petcock e. Another object oi' the invention is to provide The al 1 designates I; b 0 81 8 in {device oi the above described character a. l8 1 ei ngatedreetensulei' design and is permanent part thereof.

- a s nt which so mg t is s open at its bottom and the end walls I oi this may b secured 'to the engine block and sup s e e te dtbelow th lowe or bo tom ed es ported therefrom when not in useythe support 1 the Side walls 1,88 show 1 F188- n I ing means iurth'er facilitating the attachment thusiormingeo o 0r openionsitudinal oi the-heating means to the, coil by maintaining" side i-: ee end w is Pr wi h a the latter in a position which makes it conven to e d v ir cted dance or lip II which 4 lent to: the attachment of thegheating means n s eerossthe width oi the nsto'thecoil.-- a Y. Becuredtothetopwallil aretwo upstanding 'TJIQ inventioif will be best understood from a 111 i h-IQ '.-W .1 p ovided w h n l consideration of the following detailed d riperture 14- by which thesuspensio r of the casing tion taken in-connection with-the 1 sefle ed. J88, hereinei'ter described, when; the

in; drawings forming part of tnis'speeineetion; idevieeiie not mine with the understanding, ohowever. that the iii- 1 w thin-the easing I ere' -two tiers of e -ventlon is not to be confined to any strict con wa er 9 ehoi whichis designated -by the ici mit with the showing or the drawings hutm ii lend th s tiers of. coils are arranged to; may be c hanged or modified; so long as such n i isrianu' extendinsscross the oeschanges or modifications mark no,materiai;deingkas'shown, in Fig.3, and at the high slde oi pasture. from the salient features of the invenj the upper Itier. the end-oi the through 7 tion as'expressed in'lthe appended claims, t eica'singto provide a nipple lltovwhich is at- 1 -In the drawings? tache'd water nose", the other endoi the hose 1 h s view illustrating in brokenlines. a being attachedtothe water Jacket nipple I while I 1 Q a r I 40 opening recep 5 suspended or sup suitable transverse bars 31 which are securedthe opposite end of, the. other tier extends through the other end wall of the casing providing the nipple I! to which is attached one end of a water hose is, the other end of the hose being connected to the water jacket nipple 4. Thus it will be seen that the outlet side of the two tiers of coils which are coupled together so that water will circulate through the convolutions .of one and into and through the convolutions of-the other, is at a substantially high point above the inlet nipple i3 and thus as the water in the coils is heated, it will steadily rise from the lowest point of the lower tier to the highest point of the higher tier, thereby insuring the proper circulation of the water from the hose l9 through the convolutions, of the heating coil to the hose l'l.

when the coil unit is not being used, it is suspended by the ears l3 from supports mounted upon the top of the engine body. These supports comprise two brackets each of which is generally designated by the numeral and consists of a lower arm 2| which is bolted to the top of the ngine by a head bolt 22, a vertical arm 23 connected with-one end of the lower arm adjacent the side of the block and an upper arm 24 which extends from the upper end of the vertical arm outwardly from the block, aid has a suitable aperture for the reception of t e high portion 25 of a hook, the bill of which is indicated by the numeral 26. The hooks are spacedapart the propervdistance so that the bills thereof may be readily engaged through the apertures l4 of the "coil unit ,ears and the unit thus suspended from the top of the engine when it is not being used The numeral 21 generally designates the heater for this" water coil, which heater is designed to be coupled with the coil unit as hereinafter described.v This heater consists-of an upwardly 1e 23 having :solid bottom and end walls 25 a d33, respectively, and having the side walls 3|. thereof provided with instruck downwardly directed flns 32' whereby there are formed side wall openings 33 which the inwardlyand-downwardly directed fins 32 partially cover.

Secured to the outer sides 61 the. side walls Q of the heater receptacle 28 are deflectors 34 which ,extend downwardly and laterally or outwardly across the openings 33. These openi'ngs 33 are covered by perforated plates or shields 35 which serve to diifuse or distribute the air which up. under the outer shields 34 a d is deflected downwardly toward ,the bottom-of e receptacle by the fins 32, when the heater is in -connection with the water coilunit.

receptacle 23 at the top edge of the end wall is an inwardlydirected guide channel 3 6. These guide channels are spaced apart the proper distance to receive between them the flanged ends of the water coil casing I so that the heater unit receptacle may be vslidably en ed with the casing I in the manner shown in I'Jg. 1-,- when it is desired to heat th' tiers' of coils II and the water flowingthere ugh.-

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the water coilsare rted withinthe casing I. by

to the opposite side walls of the casing.

Supported within the receptacle is a burner unit 33 which is of a suitable type for burning gasoline, this unit including the burner arms 33 and the. generator 40' which extends across the some: the arms 39 and is connected with the g-pipe 4l which extends beneaththe Extending across each end of the heater unitcoupled with the burner arms in the customary manner common to devices of this kind, this coupling being shown in Fig. 5. The flow of gasoline to the generator 43 is controlled by a valve 42, the gasoline, which is supplied to the burner as hereinafter described, being carried from the coupling 43 through the pipe 44 to the valve 42. Also connected with the coupling 43 is a pipe line 45 which is controlled by a valve 46 and this latter pipe line leads to the pilot generator 41 which is disposed adjacent the main generator 43 and which is employed for starting up the burner; A needle valve control 48 is also connected with the line 45 forregulating the flow of fuel to the pilot generator 41. By the provision of a main valve 48 the fluid fuel line may be kept tightly closed when the device is not in use, the middle valve 43 being employed merely as-a control means which would be capable of giving a finer adjustment of the burning unit flame than might be possible to obtain, with the main shut off valve 46, No detailed showing has been made of this part of the device as the same is of standard design and common to-gasoline burners of the type described.

The numeral 49 designates a liquid fuel recep- ,ta cle, designed to contain gasoline orother suitable fluid fuel. This receptacle is provided with a valve coupling ill by means of,which an air pressure hose may be coupled with the tank for establishing an air. pressure therein and a discharge valve M which is connected with a fluid fuel hose 52,"the other end of the hos'e being' providedwith a suitable swivel connector 53 tofacilitate the ready attachment of the hose to and its detachment from the coupling 43-.

In ordento facilitate handling the heater unit,

' there is prov'ideda detachable handle which con- "sists of a bar or hand grip 54 having at one end a broad laterally turned blade 55 which is integral 40 with a mggue portion 56 of similar width. The blade 55 and tongue '56 are in slightly spaced relation and the longitudinal edge of the tongue is directed upwardly, as shown in Fig. 5, so that it maybe slipped under one of the deflectors 34 45 in the manner shown in thisflgure. When the tongue is so engaged under the deflector 34, the hand grip portion is coupled with the top .edge

f the. receptacle .bythe double hook unit 61 which is plvotally attached to the hand grip and has at itsfree end the two laterally turned fingers 33 whichare engaged over the top edge of the receptacle in the manner shown. Thus'the heater receptacle with the burner may be lifted and slidably'connected with the flanges of the water call casing I .while the burner unit 38is'lightd.

In the operation of the present device, assum- -ing that-the motor vehicle engine, has become extremely cold so that it is desirable that the engine block 'andwater in the Jacket thereof be" 00 heated before starting the engine. there is established in the fuel'receptacle ortank 23,:the hose 32 of which is connected as shown with the couthe discharge of the fueldrom u, a suitable air pressure which will effect the tankthrough the hose to the heater burner when the valve II is opened After the desired pressure-is-set up' in-the tank, t the fuel to be f valve II isuopened-to permit into the matches. This pilot generatoris uirually formed pipes leading from the coupling 43 to the valves 42 and- 43.. The

unit and is Y ofmetalsuch as copper which quickly becomes 15 heated and, .therefore, the use of matches for this purpose is feasible. After the pilot generator has become sufliciently warmed or heated, the

valve 46 is opened slightly to permit some of the fuel to pass to the generator 41 and thelatter is lighted. This will bring about a heating of the main generator 40 so that the stove unit can be lighted in the usualmanner. Thislighting of the stove is preferably carried out away from the engine and after the lighting is accomplished,

the underside of a motor vehicle engine or it may be allowed to hang between the hoses l1 and 19. It will thus be seen that the lighted burner or stove unit 38 will thus be maintained in close proximity to the water coil tiers I5 and the water in the coils will rapidly become heated and a circulation will'be established through the coils and the engine block water jacket, the heated water rising through the tube I! to the topof the jacket and the colder'water dropping from the jacket through the hose 19. By this means, the temperature of the engine body may be quickly raised so that the oil within the engine will become .sufliciently warmed to flow freely "and thus quickly reach and lubricate all of the moving parts of the engine when the latter is started. Thus the operating efficiency of the engine will be improved due to the'fact that the engine can be started up and put into service immediately and also the wear incident to the running of cold engines before the oil therein has becomie sufllciently fluid to reach all moving parts, will be eliminated.

After the engine has been heated up, the en- I tire device may be lifted again so as to hook, the

ears l3 onto the suspension hooks 26 and then the heater unit 21 may be detached from the casing I and put away until further needed and the water-coil until will'be suspended from the engine block out of the way while the engine is in operation.

. what is claimed is:

1. A preheater for. av motor having a water jacket, comprising a water coil having inlet and outlet ends, water conduits connecting said inlet and outlet ends respectively with the lower and upper parts of said water jacket at remotely spaced points, a casingfor' said coil, flange members integral with opposite walls of the casing and extending outwardly therefrom, a receptacle having an open'top, means at opposite ends of the top of the receptable forming guide grooves for slidably receiving said flanges whereby thereceptacle and casing may .be together The entire unit, consisting of the casings together with the open sides thereof opposed, said receptacle having side wall openings, and deflectors upon the inner and outer sides of the walls having said openings for guiding air into and toward the bottom of the receptacle, the receptacle being designed to house a burner.

2. In a preheater for a motor having a water jacket, including a water heating unit, and a heater separably connected therewith, means for slidably detachably coupling the heater and heating unit together, said heater consisting of a receptacle having an'open top, a fueliburner within the receptacle having means connected therewith for conducting fuel thereto, said receptacle having air inlet side wall openings, de-

flectors upon the inner and outer sides of the walls for guiding air into and toward the bottom of the receptacle beneath the burner, handling means for said receptacle and burner comprising a hand grip having a lip formed across one end and adapted for engagement beneath anouter one of said deflectors, and hook means carriedby the hand grip for engagement over the top edge of the receptacle.

' 3. In a preheater unit for a motor vehicle 1 engine having a water jacket, a pair 'of receptacles each having an open side, means slidably coupling said receptacles: together with one above the other and with the saidopen sides together in opposed relation, awater coil within the upper one of the receptacles, flexible water conductors connecting opposite ends of the coil with remote high and low points of said jacket, the.

lower-receptacle being designed to house a heater and to support the same in close proximity to the coil to direct heat upwardly into the upper receptacles-against the coil, a'pair of suspension earscarried by the upper receptacle, and means designed for attachment tothe top of said engine for detachably coupling said earstherewith for the suspension of the upper one of the receptacles when the unit is not in use, said flexible water conductors constituting .the supporting means for the coupled receptacles when the heater unit is in use.

4. In a preheater for a motor having a water jacket, the preheater including an elongated flat casing having therein a water coil which has its ends connected with said jacketand an elongated flat burner casingfsaid casings being 'of the same length and width and each open on one of its flat sides, alateral flange formed along each of two opposite walls of one caslng. d.1acent the open side thereof and extending outwardlytherefrom, means forming channels along the other casingadiacent and disposed in-a plane outwardly from the plane of the open side for slidably receiving said flanges for coupling the with their open sides opp sed and one of the casings having a side wall provided with-an air opening.

two opposite sides of the-open side thereof mn'rrromsou. 

